Analysis of Black Woman



A complex beautiful mystery aching to be discovered for her true self
Carrying past pains, disappointments, abuse, and stress in her soul depth
Spirit of hope, thoughts of wonder, seeker of peace, passionate for love
Soul of her children, confident speaker, driven for the above

Skin smooth as caramel and warm chocolate
in various shades of brown that ages immaculate
Always stereo-typed by her many curves and kinky hair
Touch it? Absolutely not! Don’t you dare!

Often smeared by her own, them, those, and others
desperately trying to or not to be her mother
Shoulders holding the weight of her children’s dreams
Breaking her bones struggling to fill the seams

Looking back over her children’s lives
hoping she nurtured enough to help them strive.
Praying that one is not six feet under before her end of time
Knows that when they walk across the stage her goal she finds

Always loving to the core, unappreciated, and more
Often ending up holding her heart in her hands heading for the door
Praying for the knight to save her from herself
wishing it was as easy as picking him from the shelf

Exhausted from being misunderstood, dismissed, and underestimated
using these multiple negatives to keep her motivated
Cries in the dark because her pain is so deep
waiting for the next time to take another leap

Sometimes with attitude dealing with those spreading the rude
Down deep she is beautiful, gentle, loving, and kind in her true mood
Empathetic, encouraging, uplifting she can be
proud, driven, and powerful unapologetically

Boldly proving her intelligence and creativity
with lack of encouragement constantly using adaptability
Resilient on her way up the ladder to better she will make them see
that she just wanted to be seen by those who see everyone but we


Scheme AXBB XXCC XXDD XXXX EEAA XXFF GGHX HHHH
Poetic Form Quatrain  (25%)
Metre 01010010010110101011 10011001001010011 10111110101110011 1101010010101001 1111000110 01001111100100 1101101010101 110101111 10110111010 10001011111010 10100110101 10011001101 101100101 10110011111 1011111110010111 1111101010111 110101010001 10101100100110101 10101110101 10111101101101 01011000101010100 101100100110100 10010101111 101011110101 0111010111001 11111001010010011 010010010111 11001001 10100010000100 11101001001000100 010101101011011111 1111011111111011
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 1,778
Words 307
Sentences 5
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 45
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 180
Words per stanza (avg) 37

About this poem

I interviewed friends, family, and many co-workers to get their ideas on their description of a black woman, any profound experiences as a black woman, and how they viewed themselves as a black woman. This poem is the result. I wrote it for a work Black History Exhibit.

Font size:
 

Written on February 22, 2023

Submitted by debbieo.17091 on February 27, 2023

Modified on April 04, 2023

1:32 min read
58

Debbie Ontiveros

I have been a nurse for 30 years who has always enjoyed writing poetry. I am a published poet from the old poetry.com days, but unable to find my poem. Also, I love taking photographs and hoping to make a business out of it someday soon. more…

All Debbie Ontiveros poems | Debbie Ontiveros Books

1 fan

Discuss this Debbie Ontiveros poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Black Woman" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/153068/black-woman>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    2
    hours
    56
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    From Ralph Waldo Emerson’s The Test, “Sunshine cannot _____ the snow, Nor time unmake what poets know.
    A beseech
    B leach
    C bleach
    D reach